Varaha Purana 144.15: Adhyaya 144, Shloka 15
The Māhātmya of Someśvara and Related Liṅgas: The Liberation-Field of Triveṇī and the Śālagrāma Sacred Landscape
Uttara Bhāga · Śaiva-tīrtha Māhātmya (Somēśvara-kṣetra / Giristhāna-varṇana)
शिवनाभाः शिलास्तत्र चक्रनाभास्तथा शिलाः ॥ सोमेश्वराधिष्ठितस्तु शिवरूपो गिरिः स्मृतः
śivanābhāḥ śilāstatra cakranābhāstathā śilāḥ || someśvarādhiṣṭhitastu śivarūpo giriḥ smṛtaḥ
shivanAbhAH shilAstatra chakranAbhAstathA shilAH || someshvarAdhiShThitastu shivarUpo giriH smRRitaH
वहाँ पर पत्थर मिलते हैं जिनके ऊपर शिव जैसी नाभि है। और कुछ पत्थर ऐसे भी हैं जैसे चक्र की नाभि हो। वो पहाड़ सोमेश्वर का है और लोग कहते हैं वो शिव का ही रूप है।
Sandhi Notes
- शिलाः+तत्र → शिलास्तत्र
- अधिष्ठितः+तु → अधिष्ठितस्तु. समासाः: शिवनाभ, चक्रनाभ, शिवरूप, सोमेश्वराधिष्ठित
Varāha
Attentive; integrating a complex sacred-topography
How are the stones classified by sacred marks, and what is the presiding deity-form of the mountain itself?
Natural features can function as ‘liṅga’ (signs) of the divine; classification of signs disciplines perception toward dharmic reverence.
Cultivate darśana: observe sacred landscapes with trained attention; let perception of ‘signs’ refine conduct (cleanliness, non-violence, humility) in tīrthas.
Varāha catalogs sacred stone-types (śiva-nābhāḥ, cakra-nābhāḥ) and identifies the mountain as Śiva-form under Someśvara’s presiding presence, informing Earth of the site’s Śaiva character alongside prior Vaiṣṇava markers.
‘Nābhi’ (navel) marks evoke cosmic-centering: the world’s axis and generative hub; cakra-nābhi suggests Viṣṇu’s ordering center, śiva-nābhi suggests Śiva’s transformative center—both read as sacred signatures in geology.
Nābhi as yajña’s center (vedi-nābhi); mountain as the स्थाणु (pillar/axis) of the kṣetra; presiding Someśvara as lunar/saumya regulator of ritual time.
Sacred marks as upādhis guiding contemplation; unity of īśvara functions (sṛṣṭi-sthiti-saṃhāra) reflected in one landscape.
Varāha Purāṇa 144.13–15 (Hara in śilā and liṅga; Varāha as mountain; cakra-lāñchita stones)
FAQs
It reflects a Purāṇic mode of mapping sacred geography through distinctive natural features (stones with recognizable marks), linking landscape description to a named shrine or deity (Someśvara).
A mountain associated with “Someśvara.” The excerpt does not provide enough to securely equate it with a single modern site; it functions as a tīrtha within the text’s sacred topography.
Implicitly, it promotes attentive recognition and preservation of culturally significant landscapes by encoding natural features as heritage markers.
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